The Karate 1-Premier League event to be held in Istanbul (Turkey) this weekend will represent one more episode in the quest for the hegemony of international Karate. The defending Grand Winners will have the opportunity to test their strength in the first international event of the season.

The Grand Winners awards recognise the best of the best in each category during the season of Karate 1-Premier League. This recognition gives karatekas the honour of wearing the special karate-gi with the golden embroidery on the shoulders and it is one of international Karate’s most prestigious and coveted decorations.  

Due to the cancellation of many international events in 2020, the WKF decided to extend the term of the Grand Winners to 2021. In this way, the defending Grand Winners in 2020 will have the opportunity to maintain their status during the season of 2021.

The list of the current Grand Winners is formed by Karate Stars such as Sandra Sanchez (ESP), Serap Ozcelik Arapoglu (TUR), Anzhelika Terliuga (UKR), Xiaoyan Yin (CHN), Irina Zaretska (AZE), and Ayumi Uekusa (JPN) in female categories, and Ryo Kiyuna (JPN), Darkhan Assadilov (KAZ), Steven Dacosta (FRA), Ugur Aktas (TUR) and Sajad Ganjzadeh (IRI) in male divisions.

No less than seven of the incumbent Grand Winners have confirmed their participation in the 2021 Karate 1-Premier League Istanbul, with World champions Sandra Sanchez and Irina Zaretska and local heroes Serap Ozcelik Arapoglu and Ugur Aktas leading the quest to glory.

The fight to become the new Grand Winners is expected to be fierce this season. Following the decision of the WKF to merge the 2020 and 2021 seasons, the Best of Best will be selected among those karatekas who top the Karate 1 standings after two years. In order to earn the right of wearing the golden karate-gi next year, Grand Winners must participate in at least four events held in two different continents during the two seasons.

The new Grand Winners will be proclaimed in the last Karate 1-Premier League event of the 2021 season.